In case anyone doesn't follow my every social media move, you might not know that this year I became the newest member of the Phoenix Critics Circle: a group of "writers, reviewers, and cinema historians moving the film conversation forward through print, broadcast, and online media both within Arizona and nationwide".

I am honored to have been admitted into the Circle. One of the duties it fulfills every year is its own Arizonan awards ceremony, honoring the year's best works of art in the film medium- like The Oscars, but local (and more diverse and intelligent). After the first round of voting, here are this year's nominees! The winners will be announced Saturday after further voting.

At the end of the month I'll release my long-awaited personal Top 15 Films of 2016 list, and you can see how my tastes may (greatly) diverge from my contemporaries.

Best Picture

·Arrival

·Hell or High Water

·La La Land

·Manchester by the Sea

·Moonlight

Best Comedy Film

·Deadpool

·The Edge of Seventeen

·Hail, Caesar!

·Hunt for the Wilderpeople

·The Nice Guys

Best Science Fiction Film

·10 Cloverfield Lane

·Arrival

·Midnight Special

Best Horror Film

·The Conjuring 2

·Don’t Breathe

·The Witch

Best Mystery or Thriller Film

·Green Room

·Hell or High Water

·Nocturnal Animals

Best Animated Film

·Kubo and the Two Strings

·Moana

·Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film

·The Handmaiden

·Neruda

·Things to Come

·The Wailing

Best Documentary

·13th

·Gleason

·O.J.: Made in America

·Tickled

·Weiner

Best Actor

·Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

·Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

·Ryan Gosling, La La Land

·Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Best Actress

·Amy Adams, Arrival

·Annette Bening, 20th Century Women

·Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane

·Natalie Portman, Jackie

·Emma Stone, La La Land

Best Supporting Actor

·Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

·Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

·Ben Foster, Hell or High Water

·John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane

·Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

·Viola Davis, Fences

·Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

·Naomie Harris, Moonlight

·Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky

·Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Director

·Damian Chazelle, La La Land

·Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

·Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

·Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Best Screenplay

·Damien Chazelle, La La Land

·Efthimis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster

·Eric Heisserer, Arrival

·Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

·Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water

Best Score

·Nicholas Britell, Moonlight

·Justin Hurwitz, La La Land

·Johann Johannsson, Arrival

·Mica Levi, Jackie

Stay tuned for the winners, and stay even more tuned for my personal picks at 2016's close!